Bank of Stockton Raises Stock Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Bank of Stockton lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 19.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth about $2,184,364,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $353,231,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Caterpillar by 50,072.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 804,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,938,000 after buying an additional 803,166 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $325.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $395.00 to $422.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $375.00 to $373.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.83.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,617.10. This trade represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Caterpillar Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE CAT opened at $371.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $175.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.32. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $418.50.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.64 billion. Caterpillar had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 53.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.